Both are independently owned and operate outside the 5-eyes core — Mullvad from Sweden, PrivadoVPN from Switzerland. Mullvad is built around minimizing what the service retains about users and has published verification to that effect. PrivadoVPN operates with Swiss jurisdiction and a free tier but no published third-party audit.

What you get that Mullvad doesn't offer

Swiss jurisdiction — constitutional privacy protections outside all Eyes alliances. Free tier with 10GB monthly and no time limit. Ten simultaneous connections. Streaming access maintained as a product commitment. Both are independently owned.

What you give up

No published independent audit — PrivadoVPN's no-logs claim is stated but not third-party verified. No equivalent to Mullvad's 2023 field test or account-level minimization model. Account registration requires an email address; Mullvad requires none. Sweden is a 14-eyes member, but Mullvad's architecture has been verified under that jurisdiction; PrivadoVPN has neither the 14-eyes exposure nor the verification.

What you get that PrivadoVPN doesn't offer

Account creation with no personal data — number only, no email. Physical cash accepted. 2023 police office search: hardware seized, zero data recovered. Fully public audit reports downloadable without account. Privacy architecture designed around minimization — the service is built to have nothing to hand over. Flat pricing with no tiers.

What you give up

PrivadoVPN registers in Switzerland — constitutional privacy protections that sit in a different legal framework than Sweden's 14-eyes membership. Free tier with 10GB monthly at PrivadoVPN. Ten simultaneous connections vs Mullvad's five. PrivadoVPN supports streaming access; Mullvad doesn't position around geo-unblocking.